After talking with the director , Dan didn't go to his room. Instead, he took a different route, one that his feet unconsciously led him to... to the forest.
It was nighttime, with dim light coming through the tangled trees, and the road was almost empty. Dan kept going until he reached the square where the fiercest battle of his life had taken place.
He stood there quietly, thinking about how bad the fighting was. The ground was scorched in places, trees were broken, rocks were destroyed... everything showed the effects of the powerful attacks.
"The destruction... is enormous." He said to himself.
Most of this wasn't caused by the Void Assassin... but by the Director.
It's incredible that I survived. I was in the middle of the explosion and chaos.
No wonder everyone is shocked that I survived.
Suddenly, he saw a shadow growing in front of him. He froze, then slowly turned around.
A big, strong, man stood in front of a rock, looking powerful. A large sword was sitting on the rock next to him. It wasn't too big, but it was heavy and felt like it was made of solid metal.
The man wore a wolf-head mask, which hid his face, but his voice was calm and deep when he spoke.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here? Are you lost?"
Dan replied, quickly regaining his composure:
"No, I'm just... looking around."
The man shook his head slightly.
"Interesting. You seemed... moved."
Dan tried to smile, but it was barely there.
"How could I not be? I almost died here."
The man raised an eyebrow — or at least, that's what Dan thought — and said in a questioning tone
"You almost died? Are you the kid who was in the middle of the fight?"
Dan nodded without saying anything.
The man said, impressed
"You survived the Void Assassin, and you have every right to be proud."
Dan didn't smile this time. He frowned instead.
"What pride? I was a little bug, and I only survived because the director saved me. Honestly, everyone looks at me like I'm a hero, but I didn't do that much to deserve it."
The man looked at him and didn't say anything for a moment. Then he said
"Interesting... Many people would have become arrogant , but you see your own weaknesses."
He kept talking, his tone changing a little.
"Your name is Dan Noctine, right?"
Dan nodded and then asked
"May I know why you are here, sir?"
The man stood up straight and looked around.
"Just looking around."
The man wearing a mask looked around, then said quietly.
"I've been here for about a week... I come here every day."
Dan smiled slightly and said something.
"You seem to be a good friend of Director Ilaris."
The man said "no" with a shake of his head.
"No... I don't know him, though I've heard a lot about him."
Dan's expression changed a little. He looked at the man strangely, even seeming a little cautious. He changed his position, put his hand on the handle of his sword, and said in a more serious tone:
"Sir, you seem to be an extraordinary person. May I know who you really are?"
The man saw that Dan was confused. He smiled behind his mask and asked him quietly.
"You seem to be thinking about something. What's on your mind?"
Dan replied without looking away from the man
"It doesn't matter. What I want to know is... are you friend or my foe?"
The man paused for a moment, then said in a calm but slightly nervous tone...
"Assuming I am an enemy, what will you do?"
Dan replied, his pulse racing
"That depends. If you leave me alone, I won't do anything to you. But if you try to kill me... I won't just sit and watch."
The man kept looking at him with the same calmness before saying:
"How about this then? I'm not interested in your life... but the thing is, I don't want anyone to know about me."
Then he added in a low voice:
"So... I'm sorry, kid."
Dan felt a tightness in his chest and started breathing more quickly. He stared at the wolf mask, then thought to himself:
"I don't know what level he is, but I'm pretty sure he's stronger than me. Most likely... I'll die again."
Dan let out a sigh, put his right foot back, and raised his sword.
"Kid," said the masked man, "show me how you're going to survive."
His sword moved quickly, straight toward the man.
The man didn't move. He didn't even move.
He calmly raised his arm and used a metal shield in his forearm to block Dan's entire strike.
Dan hit the shield with his sword, and his arm bounced back, causing him to take a step back and groan in pain.
The man stood still, like nothing had happened.
Dan clenched his fist, then lunged at the masked man again. This time, his sword moved through the air more lightly and quickly.
But the opponent easily blocked the attack.
Suddenly, Dan pulled a small bottle from his belt and threw it at the man's head.
The man quickly spun around and dodged the attack, but was surprised by a new attack from Dan, who used the movement to attack from a different angle.
The man raised his arm again to block the blow, but in a split second, he caught a glimpse of what he hadn't expected.
From the vial that had not been hit, a dark red liquid started to leak out. The liquid turned into tiny droplets that flew through the air at an amazing speed.
The man raised an eyebrow inside his mask, and in an instant, his body moved to the side, avoiding the path of the droplets.
He looked closely at the drops, and then he saw that they were going towards Dan.
The man's eyes opened wide for a moment.
"This is bad," he thought to himself, then for the first time pulled out his sword.
He swung it with one quick move.
A strong gust of wind shot out from the sword, pushing Dan backward like a leaf blown by the wind.
He hit the ground and rolled for a few meters, then got up, breathing heavily. His robe was covered in sweat and dust. This time, his eyes weren't frightened.
Instead, they were calm.